Away With the Flu
When it comes to the flu, we’re not always sure what we can do to best protect our family. But there is something we can do to protect our kids (and parents too!) from catching communicable viruses so that they’re not just protecting themselves, but others around them as well.
That’s two birds—protecting our children from the flu and teaching them to be respectful of others and their community—with one stone: FluMist®, a needle-free and preservative-free (e.g. thimerosal-free) intranasal influenza vaccine, is administered as a gentle mist sprayed into the nose (one of the places where the influenza virus can enter the body).
Why is FluMist® helpful to moms? As a nasal spray vaccine, it’s not as scary for kids as getting a shot (making it easier to administer) and it will be available at pharmacies across Canada with or without a prescription this flu season (so no lineups). Like all vaccines, FluMist® must be administered by a healthcare professional.
Interesting fact for moms: children have the highest rates of influenza and associated complications, and they’re contagious for a longer period of time.
Recent studies have suggested that vaccinating children against seasonal flu protects the community against the spread of influenza. In clinical trials using the FluMist® vaccine, children aged 2 to 17 have shown significantly reduced numbers of influenza infections compared to those who receive the flu shot. Plus, in children who are 2 to 5 years of age, FluMist® has shown to significantly reduce the number of influenza cases by more than 50 percent, compared to the injectable vaccine.
Help stop the flu—now you know what to do.
